The psalmist says, “The Lord is near to those who call upon him, to all who call upon him faithfully.”(145:19) That’s true, of course, but God is near to us whether we call upon him faithfully or not, nearer than our very breath. “God is closer to us than our own soul,” says Julian of Norwich (The Showings of Julian of Norwich: A New Translation by Mirabai Starr, p.154). God dwells within us, that spark of life and love deep within, whether we are aware of it or not. Julian says, “We are his home of homes, his eternal dwelling,” (Ibid.,p.184) and goes on to say, “It is true that he is closer to us than the heart can think, and the tongue can tell.” (Ibid. p.195) Testifying to God’s nearness is our prayer we use Sunday by Sunday: “Almighty God to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid.” In the New Testament, the apostle Paul points out that God indeed is not very far from each one of us: “For in him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:27b-28a) For me, that is an image of our being in the womb of God’s love. To remind me daily of God’s nearness, I have a plaque in my kitchen reading: “Bidden or not bidden, God is present.”

Once we recognize the reality of the Holy One indwelling, enfolding us in Love, how do we respond? With joy and delight at knowing we are God’s precious children to begin with. How we express that will be different for each of us. A good initial response is dwelling on the Word of God however we may experience it—through scripture or other written word, through the words of others that we recognize are speaking God’s word to us, through revelation and insight we discover in the circumstances of our lives. In terms of responding to God with prayer, some have coined the acronym “ACTS” to demonstrate the breadth of prayer possibilities. “A” stands for adoration, which may be expressed as worship, praise, contemplation, any of the ways we might focus on the Divine for who God is, not for what God does. “C” is for confession, the culmination of examination, contrition, repentance, whatever we do to recognize and acknowledge how we separate ourselves from the Holy One. “T” is for thanksgiving, gratefulness for all the ways God works in our lives, bringing us ever and ever closer into Love. And “S” is for supplication—asking God for whatever we need or desire for ourselves or others (not that we’re very likely to forget this type of prayer).

Perhaps you respond in yet other ways. How we respond is not what matters, just that we do—with our whole heart.